Juvenile arrested for causing fire

A bush fire that erupted near Pinnacle Canyon Academy with flames reaching as high as 20 feet on Tuesday evening was the result of a juvenile playing with matches, according to Price Police Captain Bill Barnes.

Police and fire fighters responded to multiple calls from nearby residents on Tuesday evening around 6:32 p.m. of bushes engulfed in flames near the school by 300 N. 700 E., according to Barnes. Fire fighters quickly doused the flames with water and spray foam putting out the fire before it threatened a nearby home.

Barnes said neighbors in the area told police officers on scene that a suspicious person was in the area around the time the fire erupted. Officers made contact with a 14-year-old boy who lives in the area and questioned him about the fire. He later confessed to being responsible for starting the fire, according to Barnes.

"Officers made contact with the juvenile and after questioning him about the fire, he admitted being the one responsible," Barnes said.

Price Fire Chief Paul Bedont said there were a large number of cigarette butts found on the ground where the fire started. Neighbors in the area told the Sun Advocate that kids have used the area as a place to smoke. The sidewalk is covered by bushes providing cover for youth who have been seen in the area huddled in a spot that has been burrowed out to provide a discreet place to smoke, neighbors said.

Bedont said a nearby home could have been affected by the fire were it not for neighbors quickly calling authorities while using garden hoses to try and subdue the flames.

"If it had kept burning any longer, it could have potentially caught that nearby house on fire," he said. "It could have been a lot worse."